With Greg Monroe, Boston Celtics in experimentation mode -- but they're optimistic big man will help

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- About an hour before tip-off Thursday night, Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens said he wasn't sure whether new acquisition Greg Monroe would debut against the Washington Wizards.

If Stevens was telling the truth about his indecision, his mind changed quickly. Not only did Monroe play 20 minutes on the same day he officially signed with the Celtics, but he did so in a monster lineup Stevens unveiled late in the first quarter. After Boston's 110-104 victory, Stevens admitted he will need to spend a period of time experimenting how to maximize Monroe's playing time, but already sounded confident the veteran center will help buoy the Celtics during stretches without stars Kyrie Irving and Al Horford.

High expectations for a buyout pickup? Sure. That seemed to be the theme Thursday, when Al Horford declared Monroe will be "huge" for the Celtics during the playoffs, Kyrie Irving called it "incredible" that Stevens has another weapon to utilize, and Stevens suggested Monroe will help the Celtics' bench units survive.

"I think one of the things you think about in adding Greg is that's time you don't have to stagger necessarily Kyrie and Al," Stevens said. "And so I think that's a positive moving forward."

Stevens said the Celtics will still stagger Irving and Horford sometimes, "depending on who we're playing, and matchups, and those types of things." But he liked the look of an all-size lineup with Monroe in the middle flanked by Daniel Theis and Marcus Morris. During the first half, that trio played together for more than 10 straight minutes. Stevens returned to the monster frontcourt during the second half and it helped the Celtics build a double-digit fourth-quarter lead.

"I felt good about the way Theis and Greg played together," Stevens said. "It puts Morris at the 3, which he hasn't played at all this year. But he got in the post and utilized his size advantage."

Stevens won't always use so much size next to Monroe, but the big lineup offered the first look at how the coach will experiment with his new toy.

"We obviously didn't play Semi (Ojeleye) tonight, but he's a big part of our rotation, a part of who we are," Stevens said. "And so I think we're going to be a little bit in experimentation mode for a while."

Added the coach: "I just looked at some sub patterns from them and some sub patterns from us and thought Theis might be able to guard on the perimeter some. And I think that's something we've got to get to anyway, because I think Theis can rebound against smaller guards, especially on the offensive glass. ... And then I think he can move his feet well enough to guard guards."

Though he agreed to sign with the Celtics last week after reaching a buyout with the Phoenix Suns, Monroe's signing was delayed because his new team wanted to maintain maximum flexibility through the trade deadline. He officially inked his new contract shortly after the deadline passed at 3 p.m.

Before notching five points and six rebounds against the Wizards, Monroe had not participated in any official team events yet. He had spent some time learning the system from assistant coaches, watching film and working out without any of his teammates present. He said he felt comfortable with the defensive communication quickly ("that's pretty universal across the league," he said), but knew he would still need to develop comfort in his new home.

"I'm uncomfortable with the plays," Monroe admitted.

During his first stint, the 27-year-old still provided flashes of how he should help. A beautiful backdoor pass to Morris. An and-one hook shot in the post. A great hustle play to collect a loose ball off the floor.

Monroe wasn't perfect. He missed three of his five shots. A couple of times, the Celtics didn't seem to know what they were doing with him. Rozier, who was mostly great, tried to force a lob pass to his brand new teammate. Theis ran to the rim once in transition ... and Monroe followed to almost exactly the same spot on the court. Tatum threw an alley-oop high into the air, apparently not aware of Monroe's jumping limitations.

But Monroe was pretty good, the super-sized trio netted a +15.2 net rating over 19 minutes, and, VERY IMPORTANTLY, the Wizards scoreboard provided great comedy:

Also funny: Monroe picked up a technical foul less than four minutes into his Celtics debut.

He was happier later while reflecting on his Celtics debut.

"A lot of those guys are versatile and mobile and can guard multiple positions and then the ball was just moving, just getting up and down, playing," Monroe said. "I think everybody was making the right play. That's something that they've been doing the whole year and now being on the team with them, it's just easy to play, it's fun to play."

And so the new partnership began. The Celtics know they will need to bring Monroe along, but are optimistic he will help.

"He's the kind of guy that I can't believe he fell through that way -- like, you know, for us to be able to get him," said Horford. "So I'm happy that we got him and I feel like it's going to pay off for our group. He's going to make our team better. It's just a matter of time."